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Open, open but with a warning, closed, and now, finally, Cascade Lake Beach will be open again following a high bacteria count.

It was just last week we reported on the closure...

The city Parks & Recreation Department Wednesday voluntarily shut down Cascade Lake Beach after testing revealed high levels of bacteria.

The specific bacteria that was showing elevation was E. Coli. Excessive rainfall, extreme heat in shallow bodies of water, which Cascade Lake is relatively shallow, and wildlife can all be common causes for bacteria levels to increase. (Keep reading here.)

The city says a sample was taken on August 3 and again on August 5 and levels have returned to an acceptable level. So...what's the story with the bacteria. Acceptable levels? What's that. The Parks and Recreation department explained,

There is always bacteria present in natural bodies of water. The tracking is done to determine if numbers elevate above standard levels. Excessive rainfall, extreme heat in shallow bodies of water, which Cascade Lake is relatively shallow, and wildlife can all be common causes for bacteria levels to increase.

In working on this story, I ran across one done by my co-worker Curt St. John about alligators in the lake!?

An alligator in Lake Charles, La.
Big Boy Chill
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Cascade Lake in Rochester has been in the news recently but do you remember when it made news here in the Med City for having been home to an... alligator.

The possibility of an alligator in the man-made lake in northwest Rochester was first raised back in April 2017 an area resident, who said both she and her kids spotted a 3 to a 4-foot alligator in the water. Back then, Rochester police searched the area for about 40 minutes but didn't find any evidence of such a critter.

It IS possible there's an alligator in the lake, officials said then.

There's way more to the alligator story, check it out by clicking here

NEXT UP: What It's Like Working From Home With Pets in Southeast Minnesota

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